a2 FIELD: KEY - TO THE: LAND “BIRDS: 
they are ripe the young are able to fly, and can forage 
for themselves anywhere. On his return in the spring 
the Robin will act as if he owned the place, doing 
exactly as did the bird of the year before, even sitting 
on the same branches, so that one almost believes him 
to be the identical bird come back to his old quarters. 
Robins collect in large flocks in the South during the 
winter, but some small flocks sometimes stay in thick 
cedar swamps all winter long, and appear with the 
first bright days in early spring. 
155. BLUEBIRD. Stialia sialis.— Length, 7 
inches. Upperparts blue; underparts rusty red; 
belly white. Female duller, paler, and grayish ; young 
with light round spots on the back and_ blackish 
edges on the breast feathers. One of the earliest 
birds to return in the spring, often coming so early as 
to be caught by a snowstorm. Almost every farm 
orchard harbors a pair, but gardens near villages are 
less in their favor. The Bluebird is quiet and Fly- 
catcher-like in his manners. He sits for a while on an 
apple-tree limb or telegraph-pole, notices a worm in 
the grass, flies down and picks it up, and returns to 
his place of lookout. 
